Facebook chat about 'hit' on judges adds to court problems for 2 defendants

Tipped that a Maryland man had tried to buy a rifle because he wanted to kill a judge, police didn’t have to look far to find supporting evidence.

On a Facebook page, their suspect, Zachary Ryan Mitchell, and another man, Justin Ray Ferrell, complained about the Anne Arundel County judges who were overseeing cases against them, court documents say. The two agreed it might be a good idea for each to “hit’ the judge overseeing the other man’s case, but suggested that further discussion should not take place on Facebook, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Confronted by police, Mitchell and Ferrell said the discussion concerning Anne Arundel Circuit Court Judge Michele Jacklitsch and Anne Arundel District Court Judge Danielle Mosley had been a joke.

On Monday, both pleaded guilty to threatening to injure a state official. An out-of-county judge gave each three years.